


The Mad Queens Game

by Nicholas_Lucien



Category: Forever Knight
Genre: Chess, Flashbacks, Gen, Reconciliation, Vampires, game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:08:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24955852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicholas_Lucien/pseuds/Nicholas_Lucien
Summary: Nick and LaCroix find a new game to play that brings them together when they drift apart.
Relationships: Nicholas Knight & Lucien LaCroix
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I kept it vague, but the flashbacks take place in the Kingdom of Hungary during the Habsburg-Ottoman Wars.
> 
> I do not own these characters and is not intended to infringe upon any copyright owners. No profit is being made from this work.
> 
> See notes at the end of each chapter for more information.

Nick wearily rode the elevator up to his loft. Once there, without much attention, he exited the elevator, took off his jacket, found the remote, and closed the blinds against the morning sun. Tossing the remote in the general area of the couch, he headed for the refrigerator but halted immediately when he passed into the kitchen area. A black bottle placed in the middle of the table greeted him. Scowling, he walked around the table, never looking away from the bottle, and stopped when he saw the small note attached with some string. Slipping the note off the neck of the bottle, he was able to read the label clearly. A quick snarl issued forth, both at the tempting blood within reach and that they would continue to ignore his wishes and still give this to him. Turning his attention away, he focused on the note. Folding it open, he read the short message written in LaCroix’s handwriting: _1.Nc6_.

 _Late 1530s – early 1540s Kingdom of Hungary_ < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < <

“Have you heard the most recent rumors?”

Nick leaned back into the sturdy wainscot chair. He skimmed his fingers across the pale oak armrests. “What are they saying?”

LaCroix looked out the window into the calm night. “They are taking up arms again.”

“That does not surprise me.” Nick sighed. “No one was pleased with the last outcome. Two kings cannot rule the same land. Resumed fighting was almost guaranteed.”

“Yes,” LaCroix eagerly agreed, with a small grin. He turned from the window, leaned against the dark walnut sideboard, and stared at his son. Recently, he had felt a weakening in their bond – Nicholas was beginning to question his nature and pull away, and LaCroix knew he had to spend more time with his offspring. “I believe this will be an excellent opportunity for you to join me on the battlefield.”

“No,” Nick immediately retorted.

“Why ever not? You have nothing to fear from them.” LaCroix walked over to where Nicholas was sitting. “And, of course, plenty of mortals to feed upon.”

With disgust, Nick looked up at his sire and shook his head. “I have no desire to take my sword and charge along any battlefield. And I haven’t the stomach for your type of war games.” He lowered his eyes. “Nor what you do at the end of the fighting.”

“What do you mean?” LaCroix innocently asked.

“I mean,” Nick said as he glanced up, then down from his maker, “you feed from your own men who fall.”

“They have their use,” LaCroix replied with a shrug. “Either in the field or as dinner. I do not waste opportunity nor supplies.”

“You should not feed on them.”

LaCroix frowned in response to his son’s declaration. “They are mortal. We feed on mortal blood, Nicholas. What is the problem?”

Nick turned away. “Perhaps there are some mortals we should not feed from.”

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _Present Day_

Nick crumpled up the note and tossed it into the trash on his way to the fridge to pull out a bottle of his cold bovine blood to drink.


	2. Chapter 2

Nick entered his loft and shut the blinds. Carrying the bag Nat had given him at the end of his shift, he headed to the fridge to put most of her containers away. Keeping one, he unscrewed the cap and began to drink. The solution was, as always, vile, but Nick kept drinking until half was gone. He put it down on the kitchen table to finish later. As had lately become a routine, he took the note LaCroix had left propped on the black bottle of human blood and tossed it into the trash. There was no reason to read it, the notes always had the same message: 1.Nc6. Ignoring this, he headed off to take a shower.

Finally relaxed with the help of the warm water, Nick sat at the kitchen table and finished the remainder of Nat’s shake. Lowering the concoction, he stared at the bottle that had come from the Raven.

 _Late 1530s – early 1540s Kingdom of Hungary_ < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < <

Nick shifted in the chair in the attempt to find a more comfortable position while protectively cradling his right arm. The new angle was a slight improvement. He closed his eyes – the candlelight was giving him a headache. Just as the pounding behind his eyes was dying down, he heard the door behind him squeak open. Nick went rigid when he felt a finger on his cheek, then tried to push back from the touch. The chair moved slightly.

“No, Nicolas. It is only me.”

Nick opened his eyes. With a lopsided grin, he relaxed. “Janette,” he brightly said while reaching out to touch her hand with his left. “When did you arrive here?”

Janette sat down on the bed next to the chair Nicolas was resting upon. “This very night.” She reached over to gently touch his face again. “What happened?”

Nick looked away. “We argued.”

Janette dropped her arm. “About what this time?”

Nick shrugged. “LaCroix wants me to join him on campaign. I did not want to go.”

“So he did this?”

“I also mentioned that I think perhaps there are certain mortals we should not feed from.”

“Ah, yes, that would-”

“Despite what he said, I did not suggest to become a carouche,” Nick said with disgust. It had been at that point where the physical fight had started. “I just don’t think we should feed from everyone. Perhaps just certain people, who ….”

“Deserve to die? Oh, Nicolas, all mortals die.” Janette critically scrutinized him. “I thought you had turned away from this thinking.”

He leaned towards her. “I feel something has to change.” Nick winced as his arm shifted.

“What happened to your arm?”

“It impacted with the oak chair,” Nick explained while carefully leaning back. Though, he recalled, he had also made the injury worse when he had used that arm to toss LaCroix into the sideboard.

Janette frowned. She was irritated with their master, and she had liked that chair. However, there was nothing that could be done about either of them. She got up and headed out to the hallway.

Nick watched her leave, then closed his eyes. This had not been the first fight he had ever had with his maker and knew the various injuries would heal, in time. Later, he felt Janette return and heard the thump of something being placed near him, then the rattle of a box filled with wooden pieces. He opened his eyes and watched Janette empty the box and place the wooden chess pieces upon his chessboard, which was now on the table she had brought in.

“What you need,” Janette reasonably started while finishing the assembly of the chess armies, “is an activity to do with LaCroix.” She watched as Nicolas advanced the pawn in front of the queen forward two spaces. Janette reached over and moved her horse piece, then sat down on the bed again. “Something to engage with him and interest him. Show him you have talents and abilities.”

“You mean other than hunting?” Nick moved his neighboring pawn two spaces to be next to his first advanced pawn.

“Since you do not wish to join him in the mortal’s wars, you need something else to bond over and share.” Janette advanced her horse again in the unique pattern Nicolas had taught her. She looked up at him. “Listening to music and watching the plays at the theatre cannot be the only activities to occupy your time with him.” She waited while Nicolas moved his freed bishop almost to the edge of the board. She responded by jumping her knight again. “You need to interact with him.”

Nick watched as Janette placed her knight in front of his queen. Then he looked up at her. “What can I do that will impress LaCroix enough?” he dejectedly uttered. “What would interest him that I can also do? I find we can be very … different.”

Janette’s lips twitched into a quick smile. She indicated the board between them. “You both, upon your own fields, strategize and lead armies to win. LaCroix may have battlefield experience, but you do not lack ability on this chess field. Perhaps you need to finally make him see that.”

Nick looked down on the chessboard and thought about what Janette had said. He then reached out and tipped over his king.

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _Present Day_

Nick got up, grabbed the black bottle, and stashed it away in the cabinet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the chess game, Nick opens with the Queen's Gambit. Janette declines and moves her knight in a defense that begins as the Black's Knights' Tango. However, instead of moving her second knight piece, she continues to move the first one, so does not complete the Tango.


	3. Chapter 3

Nick, lying down on the couch, tried to listen to the classical music playing from the stereo system. However, he couldn’t let the piece relax him and go through him. He was thinking about the note LaCroix had left again. Nick finally reached over to get the remote to turn off the music. He knew he couldn’t concentrate on that.

Sitting up, he listened to the silence of the space, felt the loneliness of the place. Nick got up and, once he had retrieved it, returned to the couch and unfolded his travel plastic chessboard. Once opened, the pieces tumbled out onto the leather cushions, but he quickly collected them and set them up on the board. Balanced on the couch, Nick reached across the board to the black queen’s knight and placed the piece as the note said: position c6. Absent-mindedly rubbing his finger on his lip, he scrutinized his white pieces, deciding which move to make.

 _Late 1530s – early 1540s Kingdom of Hungary_ < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < <

Nick stood outside the door to the study. The two items he held were bulky, but not heavy for his strength. He had listened to Janette’s advice from last year, and though it had taken some time to get everything ready, he had delayed actually talking to LaCroix about it. He had finally decided he would do this tonight, but tonight seemed ill-fated. A messenger earlier in the evening had put LaCroix into an irritated mood, and Nick was debating if it would be wiser to delay again. After some thought, he decided to go in; his sire would have known he was standing there anyway.

As Nick entered the room, he saw LaCroix at the desk, parchment letters and maps scattered upon its surface. His maker was glaring at one piece in particular. Nick put what he was carrying down on the small table near the chairs and walked closer to the desk.

“I assume you know a messenger came?” LaCroix did not pay much attention to the nod his son made in response. “I told them to not delay and to move the troops earlier. Now, fall has arrived, and the weather is not conducive to marching.” He turned in his chair so he could gaze out the window. “We can do nothing until the summer.”

Nick now understood the source of the irritation – LaCroix had planned for being out on campaign, sieging some town or city, not confined to the house for months. “There is something you could do,” he offered.

LaCroix turned back towards the room. “No, Nicholas, one cannot turn back the season to have favorable weather.”

“I don’t mean that,” Nick replied. “We could do something.” He waited, but LaCroix did not respond. Nick indicated what he had brought in. “An activity as compelling as what you will be missing.”

LaCroix raised an eyebrow. “Do tell, Nicholas, what is it you think would interest me as much? Have you finally decided to allow me to tutor you on the more … creative methods of killing?”

“No,” Nick answered with barely-contained distaste.

“Pity,” LaCroix softly said as he rose up from his chair. “What were you thinking of instead?” he asked as he walked over to his son.

Nick moved out of the way so LaCroix could see the checkered board resting on the small table. “I was thinking of a game of chess. It is similar to what you will be missing, maybe even harder.”

LaCroix peered down onto the board. “No, Nicholas, chess is not like a battle. The loss of a piece does not physically hurt you, nor affect the ability of the other pieces to perform their movements. You cannot assign nor teach the piece a new ability. Each piece functions without the need for resources of any kind, lack of which is an oversight that is costly in battle. The field itself does not change, so one does not have to adapt to the layout. And the opponent always knows your moves as nothing is covert nor hidden.” He looked back up at Nicholas. “How, exactly, did you think this would engage me? As Castiglione so eloquently said, chess is an entertainment. And someone that spends so much time studying and playing it knows nothing more in life than how to play a game.” LaCroix turned around and began to walk back to his desk.

Staring at the board, Nick endured the lecture he knew would happen. When LaCroix had finished, he looked up. “Chess isn’t just a game; it is a battle based on tactics and strategy.” He felt some encouragement as LaCroix stopped. “It does not rely on luck or the wiles that can happen on the battleground to help you win. Here,” he pointed to the board once his sire turned around, “it is you and you alone in complete control of your pieces. No failed weaponry, no disruption in a supply chain, no deserters, no accidents, no misunderstandings in the orders, no riders thrown from their horses, and no unfavorable weather to be excuses for why your battle plans didn’t work. It’s simply you and your choices.” Nick moved closer to LaCroix. “Pure battle, pitting your mind against mine. Perfect, flawless execution of your plans. Unless,” Nick quietly continued, “your battle strategy really relied on your soldiers making their own changes to your plans in order to get your war won. In which case, it’s not really your plan.”

LaCroix stood, rigid, for a few moments. He felt his son’s intensity reverberate through their link, and under that, a need, an offspring’s need to be with his maker. “You want to spend time with me doing this,” he indicated the checkered board with a movement of his head, “instead of going into the field?”

“Yes.”

LaCroix contemplated what Nicholas proposed, then sat down in a chair close to the chessboard.

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _Present Day_

Nick’s fingers hovered over his chosen piece, but he hesitated touching it. Feeling alone and unconnected, surrounded by the silence, he slowly retracted his hand, tipped the chessboard over to slide the pieces off, then packed up his board.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LaCroix's speech was inspired by a blog I read and I honestly don't remember and can't find it again.
> 
> The quote is from Castiglione's "The Book of the Courtier" (1528). Translated to English (and I updated it so it is easier to understand) is: "And what say you to the game of chess? It is truly an honest kind of entertainment .... But I think it has a fault .... for whoever will be excellent in the play of chess, I believe he must bestow much time about it, and apply it with so much study, that a man may as soon learn some noble science, or compose any other matter of importance, and yet, in the end in bestowing all that labor [to chess], he knows no more but a game." Thus the point is that one can play, but if one becomes good at it, they had wasted the time studying and perfecting their chess game when they could have been doing something that will benefit them in real life or produced something of real value.


	4. Chapter 4

Riding up the elevator, Nick rubbed the crook of his arm. He could still feel the needle Nat had used to collect blood to check if the new protein shake series had any effect. The only effect he had noticed was being more hungry and tired than before. Once in the loft, he grabbed the remote off the piano and closed all the shutters. He then headed for the fridge, knowing he should drink Nat’s shakes, but knowing he would drink his bovine blood instead.

As he passed by the kitchen table, he stopped. His wooden chessboard had been set up on the table. Scrutinizing the board closer, he was not surprised with what he saw: the black queen’s knight had been advanced forward on the board.

 _Late 1530s – early 1540s Kingdom of Hungary_ < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < <

LaCroix held the dark walnut chess piece in his hand, scrutinizing the craftsmanship. This was his queen piece, as Nicholas had explained, though not shaped like any modern queen. This was Juno, matched to her mate on the board who was in the style of Jupiter, complete with his mighty thunderbolt. He placed the piece back on the board, then trailed his fingers over the delicate wings of Pegasus, who was positioned next to a Roman column. “So, you had a chess set made for us to play upon?”

“Yes,” Nick answered. “Your pieces are made from the damaged sideboard and mine from the oak wainscot chair.”

LaCroix gave a quick smirk then looked up from his chess pieces. Across the board he saw his opposing army. Carved from the lighter oak, the pieces were modeled differently than his. Juno and Jupiter and Pegasus did not greet him, but an armored king brandishing a sword with his fully-plated knights upon their rearing steeds ready to protect their courtly-dressed queen. Though, LaCroix mused, she might not need the protection, as she was the most powerful piece in this version of chess. Hovering above the wooden pieces was Nicholas, with a serious look upon his face. “Ready to begin our first of many skirmishes?”

Nick nodded. He had gone over the basics, but more is learned during play itself.

LaCroix reached over, hovering his hand over Juno’s Pegasus, before moving the winged horse and placing it in front and near the center of the chessboard.

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _Present Day_

Nick went to the fridge and took out one of his bottles. Pulling the cork out with his teeth and spitting it out, he took a large gulp before closing the fridge door. Holding the bottle by the neck, he went back to the kitchen table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The queen piece was introduced into chess ~1450, replacing the vizier, or King's advisor. Initially a piece of limited moves (just one square), by 1475 various chess pieces got their modern moves, such as pawns being able to move two squares initially, and the queen gaining her powerful moves (the combination of bishop and rook). Such a game, using the queen's new powers, became known as “ésches de la dame enragée" (chess of the enraged lady), or "the mad queens chess."
> 
> Having White move first is a modern rule, having first been formalized as Rule 9 on page 126 of the New York 1880 tournament book. Before that, playing White was considered unlucky. Having White move first, and thus gain a slight advantage on the board, was used to get people to agree to play that color. Thus, before then (and sometimes even now) it was acceptable for Black to move first on the board.
> 
> LaCroix, moving his queen's knight first, is the irregular opening known by many names including Sleipnir Opening (named after Odin's horse).


	5. Chapter 5

As dawn approached, LaCroix landed in front of his home. The previous night he had felt something change in Nicholas, their link humming slightly more intensely, and had thought his son would drop by the broadcast booth that night. But he had not.

Once in his home, LaCroix headed towards the study. He would give Nicholas one more night to make some sort of contact with him before he would once again drop by the bricked warehouse. Sitting down at his desk, he noticed a note that had not been there when he had left that evening. Hovering his hand over it, he ignored the crashing emotions within him as to what this note could mean, then grabbed and quickly opened it. Cocking his head to one side, he rose out of the chair and walked over to a small table. Reaching over, he did as the message said, and advanced the white king’s pawn two spaces.

Smiling, LaCroix chose Jupiter’s Pegasus and moved his dark winged horse to position f6 upon the chess field.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LaCroix's and Nick's plays follow the Sleipnir Opening (also known as the Dunst Opening) and defense against that initial opening. Moving the queen's knight, then the king's pawn, then the other knight was the play of Dunst-Gresser in NY in 1950. And (I like this from Wiki), moving the pawn into play is considered very dangerous for that player if they do not know what they are doing - the opening player could have an early win.


End file.
